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CRISPR will make 2016 the year of gene-edited organisms

By Michael Le Page

Will the first gene-edited baby be born in 2016? Let’s hope not. It is far from clear it can be done safely – although technically it is now possible. Gene editing with the new method known as CRISPR is so cheap, easy and effective that a few scientists with the appropriate expertise could tweak one or more genes in a human embryo before it is implanted in a woman’s womb.

What 2016 will undoubtedly bring is a lot more gene-edited organisms. CRISPR works well in everything from butterflies to monkeys. It has already been used to create extra-muscular beagle dogs and sheep; long-haired goats; and pigs immune to common diseases. Next up could be hypoallergenic pet dogs and cats, cattle resistant to TB, or chickens that don’t get bird flu.

But whether any of these make it out of the lab in the next 12 months depends on the regulators. Gene editing can add new pieces of DNA, as in conventional genetic engineering, so any living thing altered in this way is bound in many countries by strict regulations on genetically modified organisms. Getting approval to sell modified animals takes a lot of time and money.

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But gene editing can also be used to make changes to existing genes – tweaks that are indistinguishable from naturally occurring gene variants. The mutation that made the beagles more muscly already exists in dog breeds like the bully whippet.

In theory, this kind of gene editing should be exempt from regulation. If the regulators agree, this could be the year that people start eating, drinking or wearing products from gene-edited farm animals and plants, or buy the first gene-edited pets.